A Chaotic Beginning
by HelenOfIlium
Summary: Nate and a pregnant Elena are enjoying life with their new company and world travels. Their baby's scary arrival takes them on a new kind of adventure. A look into their new start and becoming parents. (post U4, before epilogue)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is my first fic in a LONG time. But I just finished the entire Uncharted series in 2 weeks and I couldn't help but wonder about some of their life moments in the middle. Drama follows the Drake family, and you can only imagine that the same would happen with their baby! So enjoy :)**

It was late September on the coast of Germany and the air was beginning to turn cool, but Elena was sweating as she gave her new, _very expensive_ camera a good lens cleaning. Nate would be coming to back the surface any moment now with his latest find.

The boat swayed lazily underneath her, but her gravity was compromised and she struggled slightly to stand in one place. Now 32 weeks along in her pregnancy, even going from sitting to standing was a task. She looked up to scan the surface of the ocean for tell tale bubbles of a scuba ascent, but nothing yet.

"You know, you should really take it easy, kid. I think you're going to give Nate an aneurysm with you waddling around on the high seas." Victor quipped as he strolled over to where she was standing, unlit cigar in his mouth.

Her only answer was an eye roll. Elena was glad he was there, though. Her and Nate had arrived in Germany in mid July after a successful job in the Gulf of Mexico. Some unexpected "business" of Victor and Sam's had landed them in Munich two months ago, and they had joined up with Nate and Elena three weeks ago in the small coastal town where they had been researching a possible 13th century Viking wreckage. Sam, citing that the last time he was on a boat with Nathan had caused him to be marooned on an island, opted to stay back at their rented townhouse.

Victor was a comforting presence to Nate, too. His stress level seemed to be reaching critical levels as Elena's pregnancy progressed. He had insisted almost the minute he found out she was pregnant that she take time off, and they would settle in one place for a bit. But there was no way she was backing down from that argument. She lived for the adventure as much as he did. And there was no way in hell that she was getting stuck with the paperwork all that time while he was off exploring.

A year after chasing pirate Henry Avery's treasure into almost getting them all blown up, they had bought Jameson Marine, sold their house, and began booking jobs all over the world. Legal jobs. There was no shortage of collectors, historical societies, and museums that weren't looking for the next old wreckage or great historical find at the bottom of the ocean, and the newly minted Jameson-Drake Marine was fast becoming the go-to for such a request.

"Put yourself to use then, gramps" She smiled, standing up straight, handing him the camera with one hand while the other went straight to the small of her back, massaging the constant pain that had developed there.

Victor chuckled at the nickname, "Hey now, I'm too young and good looking to be called grampa anytime soon. The kid will just have to work with Sully."

Elena shook her head and smiled, thinking of how he might have a change of heart in about six weeks. _Six weeks_. How she would last six more weeks, Elena didn't know. It didn't help that their little girl was constantly on the move, kicking her straight in the bladder every 5 minutes.

" _Can't sit still can you? You definitely get that from your father…"_ She smiled as she rubbed what she thought was a tiny foot poking out at the top of her stomach with her now camera-free hand.

Finally, looking at the water's surface again, she saw the bubbles, and motioned to Victor to turn the camera on her. Absentmindedly, she fixed her hair and wiped her face, camera ready as she'd ever be. She began reciting the details of the 13th century Vikings that had torn through the coastal cities of Germany, pillaging what could possibly be the biggest horde of Viking treasure and artifacts to date. She brandished a worn, silver coin that Nate had picked up around the time that Victor and Sam had arrived. It had been the first clue that they were on the right track after weeks of searching.

She winced suddenly at a sharp streak of pain that came shooting up from her abdomen. Victor looked up at her, causing the camera frame to go off center for a moment. She recovered and motioned for him to keep rolling. A light splash and sputter behind alerted her to Nate's surfacing as he spit out the mouthpiece, excitedly yelling something indistinct. As she turned her body to look at him, she felt a white-hot searing pain that was definitely NOT a kick come from her bulging belly. Doubling over, she reached out a hand as she hit the deck and caught herself, but just barely. Her thighs felt wet, and when she looked down, she saw only red.

Elena heard the shouts, but couldn't tell whether it was Victor or Nate, or both. Nate was frantically swimming for the boat, only yards away, but was weighed down by something he was carrying in a net behind him. Victor was suddenly next to her, and she had a moment of clarity where she craned her neck looking for her camera. Another wave of extraordinary pain enveloped her again and she flung her left hand out, searching. She needed Nate, she needed her husband.

She felt a cold, wet hand grasp hers and squeeze. Looking up, she saw the utter panic that mirrored her own.

"ELENA!" she heard him yell, but he seemed far away.

* * *

Tearing off his flippers and stripping himself of his oxygen tank, he gently cradled Elena's head in his lap, taking her hand once again in his right, and with his left reached out to her stomach. His hand froze when he caught sight of the dark red blood now staining her blue capris. " _What do I do? What do I do?_ " ran on a loop inside his head.

Loose strands of blonde hair were whipping around his fingers. The boat was moving, and fast. Dazed, he looked around. He could see Sully at the wheel, yelling into the boat's radio receiver. Nathan looked down at Elena again. He smoothed his hands over her face, trying to rouse her.

"Elena, baby, wake up, please? We're going back to shore. You'll be okay. You'll both be okay. I promise. Please wake up," his pleas grew louder and he shook her shoulders. She was entirely limp in his arms, her skin pale and clammy. The pool of blood around them grew. It was starting to drip over the side of the deck. Nate felt chilled. _"Is this shock?"_ He thought to himself.

"HURRY SULLY!" He yelled into the roar of the wind and motor. Sully couldn't have heard the words, but turned around at the sound, looking to Nate's face. Fear was etched into his expression as well.


	2. Chapter 2

Nate could hear sirens and see flashes of blue and red against the water's surface as they neared the docks. Elena's neck felt cool to the touch, but he still felt her pulse, however faint it was growing.

Once docked, paramedics boarded and ran towards him and Elena, still sprawled on the deck and covered in her blood.

"Please…my wife. The baby… help us," he said barely above a whisper, as a team of four rushed around him.

They began to perform triage on her right there as they assessed her condition and put her on a gurney. Victor ran over to Nate and helped him to his feet as the medics began to throw rapid-fire questions at them in heavy German accents.

"How many weeks is she?"

"Does she have any allergies? Was her pregnancy high risk?"

"Does she have a history of blood clots?"

All Nathan could do was stare from his hands, now stained with his wife's blood back to her pale figure on the gurney now being fitted with IVs and an oxygen mask. He felt reminded of Shambala, of the grenade. Of the sick feeling of loss he felt when he thought those were his last moments with her alive.

"Nate! Nate, snap out of it kid!" Sully grasped both his shoulders, shouting into his face. Nate looked up, wide-eyed. "You have to answer them, Nate, they need you to help them help her!"

"Elena…s-she's almost 32 weeks. She's allergic to penicillin… She's had a normal pregnancy, they said she was healthy…no, no clots…She's going to be okay, right? She's healthy, they said the baby was healthy!" Nate half cried out as they nodded in acknowledgement and began to get her off the boat and into the ambulance. They motioned for Nate to follow. Nate looked to Sully, who for his credit, tried to half smile.

"I'll get Sam and meet you at the hospital! Go, Nate!"

Sitting in the ambulance, Nathan felt pinned against the wall. Two medics were in the front seat, and two were in the back with him, working rapidly over Elena. He sat on her left and took her hand, which thankfully was the one without the IV drip. He rubbed her wedding band and closed his eyes, silently praying to every god and saint he'd ever heard of.

The medics spoke rapidly in German, a language he had only just started picking up since they had been here. Owing to all the medical jargon they were using, he couldn't follow a thing.

"Fünf minuten!" The driver called out.

That much, Nate understood: just five more minutes to the hospital. They had been there once, for her 28-week ultrasound. It was then that they found out it was a baby girl. They had originally found out she was pregnant just before they sold the house in New Orleans and left for Mexico. She had had a few check-ups there, but the modest clinics they had in the rural Mexican town hadn't had ultrasounds. Every check up was more of the same. Strong heart beat, healthy mom, healthy baby, nothing to worry about. " _Why is this happening? What went wrong? I told her to stop filming so much… and no more running around the boat while she was trying to be a human oven…Did I do this?"_

The last thought is every father-to-be's fear. They had only made love a few times in the past month or so, due to his fear and her general discomfort. The most recent time being just a few days prior.

" _For the millionth time, Nate, you're not going to hurt her," Elena soothed, reaching for his face as Nate hovered above her._

 _"Stop saying **her** , I can't think about my daughter while doing __**this**_ _! You're going to give me a complex!" He laughed, leaning in to cover her subsequent laugh with a deep kiss._

Nate shook his head back into the moment as the doors to the ambulance opened and two doctors dressed in trauma gowns reached for Elena and spoke quickly and calmly as they rushed her inside. He hadn't even realized he was moving until an older woman grabbed him by the arm to stop him from entering the operating room doors.

"Englisch, bitte?" Nathan answered her garbled questions with his limited German.

"Ja, American? Come with me Mr…?"

"Drake, I'm Nathan Drake, that was my wife Elena. Where are they taking her?" He said, craning his neck around the nurse to look through the doors where she had disappeared.

The nurse guided him to a seat in a private waiting room. "They're taking your wife to surgery Mr. Drake. She has lost a lot of blood. We need you to sign some papers, but someone will come along and give you an update soon." She patted his arm kindly, handing him a clipboard of paperwork.

 _Guess I don't have to argue who's going to this paperwork for once, right Elena?_ Optimism returned. Elena was alive. They were at a hospital. They would help her. Sully and Sam will be here soon.

Nate had just finished one page of the consent paperwork when a female surgeon in a gown and mask walked in.

"Herr Drake?"

Nate nodded, mouth dry. He could see the blood on the gown. Elena's blood.

"Your wife has lost a large volume of blood. The placenta detached from the wall of the uterus and caused a significant hemorrhage and the baby to loose its oxygen supply. Luckily, the full detachment only occurred just as she arrived and we immediately delivered the baby via Caesarean. You have a daughter, Mr. Drake." She gave a small smile, but Nathan could see worry in her eyes.

"My wife, Elena, is she going to be okay, what's going to happen? And the baby, can I see her?" Some relief found its way into his body, but until he saw them, he would still feel the strangle of panic that seemed to grasp every breath.

"Your wife is still in surgery. Your baby has been taken to the pediatric intensive care unit, Mr. Drake, I'm sorry, but as you know, she was early and needs some extra care. If you'll excuse me, I'm needed back in surgery. We will keep you informed." With that, the doctor nodded and left, her gown making a slight 'woosh' noise as she sped out the door.

Almost instantly, the doctor was replaced in the doorway by figures of Sam and Sully. Nate looked from Sully to Sam, still reeling from the information he had just received and hunched over, put his face in his hands, and shook.

Both men immediately approached the distraught man sitting in front of them. They sat on either side, at a loss for what to do. Elena was their family, too.

Sam put his hand on Nate's back, giving him a light pat, "Have they told you anything yet, Nathan?"

He choked out a brief synopsis of what the surgeon had just told him. A slight knock on the door alerted them to a young nurse trying to get Nate's attention. Finally, removing his hands from his face, his eyes red and hands shaking, he looked up.

"Mr. Drake, if you like, I can take you to where you can see your daughter. She is in an incubator for now, but you will be able to see and touch her."

A new wave of sadness washed over him. He didn't want to see her alone. Elena was supposed to be with him, seeing their daughter for the first time.

"I can't…I have to wait. I c-can't see her without Elena," he stuttered, looking from the nurse to Sam, to Sully.

Sully put his hand on Nate's forearm, "Kid, you know that Elena would kill you if she knew you left your daughter to be alone in her first hours of life. Time to be a father, Nate."

Sam stood up and looked down with an hopeful smile, "C'mon little brother, let's go see how much my niece looks like me."

The harsh lighting made his already swollen and irritated eyes hurt even more. He felt like he was walking in a dream as he followed his brother and the nurse down the hall and into a large room. The lighting was softer in here and he could hear the hiss and whirr of machines. There were a dozen incubators spaced out in the room, but he only looked straight ahead to where he was directed. The nurse, who wore cheerful pink scrubs, gave him a genuine smile as she lightly touched the incubator in front of him.

"Here she is Herr Drake. She weighs 4lbs, 2 ounces. When they are this small, they tend to have trouble breathing, and that's why she has a ventilator. She…" the nurse continued on with the full breakdown on his new daughter, but he found that he was once again zoning out. Only this time, it was the tiniest human taking the forefront of his attention.

He imagined he could fit her in one hand if he was allowed to hold her. She had the tiniest patch of brown hair. He counted her wrinkled little fingers and toes. She was beautiful. He placed a hand on the incubator to get a closer look and was startled out of trance when the nurse unlatched a window for him to put his hand in and touch her.

"Are you sure? Is it really okay if I-?" Nate held up his hand, clean now from the blood, but still weary.

The nurse nodded and smiled again, "Just gently take her hand. Avoid her tubes and IV lines."

Sam watched as Nate hesitantly put his hand inside the incubator and inched a finger towards his tiny daughter's fist. When he finally made skin-to-skin contact, the miniature hand flexed out and grasped her father's index finger. _"And in this moment, Nathan Drake, the man who found El Dorado, Shambala, and Iram, turns to mush."_ He let out a small chuckle, and put his hand on his brother's shoulder and whispered, "I'm proud of you, little brother."

* * *

 **So what do we think so far? Please review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the follows so far, readers! I hope you're enjoying reading as much as I am writing :)**

"How long has it been since he's left that room?" Sully asked.

"At least two days. He's been sitting in that same chair in those same clothes since I last came on Monday." Sam replied, giving a shrug.

"Well he's your brother, go show him some brotherly love or something. Plus, that kid needs to go see **his** kid, too."

"Hey, he probably listens to you better than me…"

Nate could hear them whispering outside the door, discussing him. He just ignored them and leaned towards the bed to brush a stray hair out of Elena's face. She was breathing on her own today and the surgical wound was healing nicely. The doctors said she would wake up when she was ready.

"Elena, I wish you would wake up. You should see her. I saw her. Once. Don't be mad, its not that I don't want to see her…I just… need you with me. I can't do this alone," He leaned back in the chair, stretching out. Sleeping in a hospital chair for two nights really killed your back. He rubbed a hand down his jaw, feeling a couple days worth of stubble.

"You really want her to wake up and see that?" Sam walked closer, "And have to smell that? Jesus, Nathan, you need a shower. And a shave. She'll want to go back to sleep if she wakes up to you looking like this."

Nate rolled his eyes. "Ha-Ha. Got a razor handy then?"

"C'mon lets get you out of this room and into a shower and actual clean clothes. Or in your case, hose you down outside and hope for the best."

"I should've left you on that island, you know?" Nate grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah. You'll regret that one for the rest of your life. But where would you be without me?"

"Less scars and less gray hair?" Nate stood up and gave Elena's hand quick squeeze before following his brother out.

"Okay Nate the Great, you're a real comedian. Let's just get you fixed up so your poor wifey here doesn't think we let you become a mountain man."

* * *

"Are you going to leave that poor kid without a name much longer?" Sully asked, sitting on the bed and yelling into the bathroom where Nate was shaving.

He put down the razor and gripped the countertop, sighing, "When Elena wakes up, we'll do it. We talked about a few names, but I don't want to choose without her."

"So Victoria would still be in the running then?"

"Not a chance, old man," Nate chuckled, and immediately felt guilty. He needed to get back to the hospital. Walking back into the bedroom and wiping his face with a towel, Nate nodded to Sully, "Let's go back, I have a good feeling."

"Alright kid, I'll drive. You know they'll call you if anything happens, right? And Sam's there to keep an eye on them."

"Let's just go, Sully."

* * *

He brought in fresh flowers that he had bought at the gift shop and put them by her bed. They were a bright yellow, like the one he had pressed in his journal next to her name all those years ago.

He sunk back into the chair at her bedside, preparing himself for another long night of beeping machines and nurses coming into check every couple of hours. Looking over her, he could see her color was finally returning. She looked much better. The swell of her belly still remained, healing, and he felt a pang of guilt. His daughter was downstairs, in an incubator. Alone.

He laid his forehead on her bedside and groaned.

"Nate?" She sounded hoarse, her voice barely about a whisper.

"Elena? Elena!" He stood up so fast that he banged his head on the IV cart at her beside, "Dammit! Crap! Ow!"

Recovering, he returned to her side, leaning over her face.

"You're crying." She said, reaching up for his face.

"No, its just raining in here," he laughed, kissing her.

She let out a small chuckle, and he felt her hand move down to her stomach, feeling the emptiness. Suddenly, she stiffened and looked wide eyed with fear into his eyes, "The baby?! What happened, Nate?"

"Shh, its okay. She's okay. We're okay. She's so small, hon. She's beautiful."

Putting a hand to her mouth, Elena began to cry, "She's okay? Can I see her? I need to see her Nate."

Nate pressed the call button for a nurse, questioning the logistics of getting Elena to the baby, since the baby could not be moved from her incubator as of yet. They wanted to monitor and have her eat first, but they would wheel her down shortly.

"Slow down there, tiger, if you choke and die right now from eating fast, I'll never forgive you," Nate reprimanded as Elena scarfed down chicken noodle soup. She was radiating nervous and excited energy. His relief was palatable. Sully and Sam had stopped in earlier for a visit, but had gladly gone back to rest a bit in the comfort of their hotel, the vigil now over.

Due to the fresh surgical wound on her stomach, she couldn't yet sit in a wheelchair. Instead, they wheeled her bed out and into the elevator. As they waited for the elevator to make its way down a floor, Elena smiled up at him, a mixture of what Nate thought to be 'new mom + morphine'.

"A modern day Cleopatra," he laughed.

"Without the snakes," she smirked back.

Pointing out her monitor wires and IV lines he replied with a smirk of his own, "Are you sure about that?"

An elevator ding broke them out of the moment, as Elena was wheeled out and Nate followed.

They entered a room adjoined to the one Nate had first seen his daughter in only three days ago, but now seemed like it had been ages. He certainly felt a decade older after this experience. A pediatric nurse soon joined them, slowly wheeling in a familiar incubator.

"She's bigger," Nate smiled, walking over to the baby so that the incubator was between him and Elena's bed, putting his hand on the incubator top. He watched as she, much less hesitant than he had initially been, reach her hand in and carefully smoothed her hands over the tiny body, and stopped to marvel at her tiny feet.

"So you're the one that's been roundhouse kicking me from the inside? How could someone so small cause so much trouble? You're going to be just like your daddy," Elena settled easily into the baby talk voice, whispering in one-sided conversation to the infant.

 **"** ** _This_** _is what its supposed to feel like_ ," thought Nate, beaming down at the scene before him. In all his adventures, from treasure to lost cities, he had never seen something quite so amazing. He was biased for sure, seeing as how this tiny human in front of him was half his, and half of the woman he loved. _"The Adventure of Parenthood, featuring: Nathan and Elena Drake. Here goes nothing!"_

"Cassandra. Definitely. Don't you think so, Nate?"

"Are you sure? We don't have to name her after my-" he was cut off by a sharp look from his wife.

"I know we don't have to, but look at her. She's our little Cassie. Cassandra Morgan Drake." Her expression softened and she looked back to the baby.

"You're right," he moved towards Elena's bed, stepping behind her to watch the interaction and kissing the top of her hair. _"Thank you."_


	4. Chapter 4

**Note: Their home described in this chapter is meant to be the one in the epilogue of Uncharted 4, or at least where I imagine it would be! Thank you for the positive feedback and follows/favorites ;) I haven't quite decided if I want to keep it going for long, or keep it short with some snippets of baby/parenting life - any input would be welcome in a review!**

The original plan had been for Elena and Nate to finish up in Germany during the next two weeks, regardless of their findings, and head home to their newly purchased home on the island of Ibiza. They would've traveled across Europe by train, since Elena would not be cleared to fly, and then ferry from Spain to Ibiza.

Compared to some of the lavish homes on the island, theirs was modest, right on the beach with space to spare. Nate planned on eventually building a smaller cabin style building next door, to keep their work and many collected items separate from their new family home.

They had bought the house several months ago, after many weeks of deliberating on _where_. Nate's time in Columbia as a youth had left him with a natural talent for Spanish, and Elena's own travels had made her comfortable with the language as well. And since they were always somehow finding themselves on islands anyways, one off the coast of Spain seemed an easy choice.

Since the purchase, they had visited only several times to furnish and store things for the upcoming baby. Nate's proclivity towards not thinking ahead was surprisingly absent when it came to preparing himself for the new addition. He had read every baby book he could get his hands on in his spare time between jobs and while traveling. "Did you know that…?" became a dreaded phrase for Elena, as Nate would blurt out either disgusting or disturbing facts about her pregnancy and newborns constantly. She began to miss the treasure rants.

Now, sitting in the hospital bed, Elena wondered why they ever bothered to plan anything. Their life together had always gone anything but planned. Today she had been cleared for discharge, and was just waiting for Nate to get back with clothes from their townhouse. Unfortunately, the baby would have to stay a little longer. In the past week and half since her traumatic birth, she had gained several ounces, and the new parents were finally able to experience the joy of holding her outside of the incubator and to be able to feed her.

Elena smiled to herself, thinking of yesterday morning when she got to witness Nate feeding Cassandra for the first time. He had held her like she would shatter at any moment, barely even breathing for fear of breaking her. She had thought he would turn purple if it weren't for the assisting nurse assuring him that newborns were sturdier than they looked. Bottle in hand, he was fully concentrated on his task. He had looked up briefly to Elena, smiling broadly, echoing her own expression of pride and awe.

The baby had stopped nursing suddenly and jerked her head away from the bottle. Nate's eyes had widened as he exclaimed, "Oh God, I broke her!"

"The cloth-" the nurse had began to interject, just as the baby promptly spit up all over her surprised father.

Elena had tried to stifle her laugh, it didn't help her stitches any, but Nate's horrified expression was too much not to enjoy. His only reply to his wife was a snarky scowl as he mouthed 'ha-ha' while the nurse and he began to clean up after his daughter's little incident.

"And what are you chuckling about?" Nate's voice at the door brought her back to present as he walked in the door bag in one hand, and something fuzzy and grey in the other.

"Oh, just thinking about your adventures with baby puke. What's that?" She nodded towards the hand without the bag of clothes.

"Cute. I'm pretty sure I still smell like sour milk, thank you very much. I'll let you handle that job next time. And, oh," he held up a stuffed animal, a miniature lemur, "a gift for Cassie from Sam. He thinks he's _so_ clever."

She laughed, taking the little stuffed lemur. Nate had loved the lemurs in Madagascar, and had unsuccessfully tried to convince Elena that they would make a good pet.

"What, are you mad that its not for you, cowboy?"

"Absolutely, why should the baby get all the good stuff?" He gave her a sly smile, putting the bag of clothes on the edge of her bed and offering a hand to help her out of bed. Slowly, he helped her change into a comfortable tee shirt and soft sweatpants. She sat back down on the edge of the bed to put her shoes on, noting that this was the first time in a few months that she remembered putting on shoes with ease. She would miss her big, round belly, but was glad to have the tiny, kicking human out.

"I hate that we have to leave her here alone," Elena said quietly as she edged off the bed and stepped towards him, wrapping her arms tight around his middle and hiding her face in his chest.

Nate let out a long breath and wrapped his arms around her in response, "Me, too. But we can visit everyday. Three times a day, if you want. The doctors said only a couple more days, and she gains a few more ounces."

"I know. Even when she comes home, we don't even have a crib here in Germany, though!"

"I hadn't thought that far a-"

"-ahead." Elena finished for him, lamenting sarcastically "Oh, I know, Nathan Drake. It's a comfort to know that some things won't change, even with a baby."

She leaned back out of his chest, looking into his face. His only reply was a sheepish smile and a shrug.

"C'mon. Let's go down and see her before we go," she said dropping her arms from his waist and gingerly headed for the door.

"Just wait a minute," he chided, sidling by her, blocking her exit and pulling out a wheelchair from next to the doorway. "One last ride, Cleopatra."

Elena was about to argue, but the motion of walking still hurt her incision. She rolled her eyes in the little defiance she felt like giving and took a seat in the proffered chair.

"Okay, Nate, let's go."

"Aye, captain." He laughed, grabbing the bag and the lemur, placing them in her lap.

* * *

 _"God, she's gorgeous,"_ Nate thought as he watched the scene before him. Elena was getting to nurse Cassie for the first time, and her smile couldn't be matched. His attention was seized when a doctor tapped him on the shoulder, motioning with a clipboard of _more_ paperwork. He glanced back at his wife, clearly having a crowning achievement in motherhood, and decided that she would be okay having this moment by herself for a few minutes.

As he signed off on a few more documents, the doctor updated him on Cassie's progress, and that if she made it through two more nights without any sleep apnea episodes, she was clear to go home. Nate felt both relief and anxiety at the new timeline for their baby's homecoming. He and Elena had always been a team, both extremely capable of being independent, but able to lean on each other during trying times. Now he had a healing wife and a helpless baby to take charge over. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't slightly terrified.

* * *

"No, Nate! I can go to the bathroom by myself!" Elena shouted through the door, exasperated. It was nice to be in the comfort of their own space instead of the unfamiliar sterility of the hospital, but Nate was beginning to drive her up the wall. They had been home all of 12 hours. She was scared to even blow her nose for fear of him asking to assist her in some way.

Nate huffed, walking back down the hall and sitting on the edge their bed. He knew he was hovering, knew that he was driving her crazy. This whole ordeal had reminded him so much of the time in Shambala and Flynn's grenade that he just could not help but feel the need to be close, to be helpful to Elena.

Once again, rest orders meant nothing to his wife. Instead of healing up and watching some TV, Elena shuffled through the house, pulling out the random baby things that they had collected in the last few weeks and planned to bring to the new house _before_ the baby would be born. " _This is why I never think ahead,"_ he thought as he looked around the room, a onesie with a German flag that Elena had picked up at a tourist shop was hung over a chair along with several other random baby items, " _Since when has anything ever gone as planned for us?"_

* * *

 **Next up, baby comes home!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Did you bring the outfit with the purple flowers?" Elena asked, practically vibrating with anxiety as she buckled in.

"Yes, for the third time, I packed it." Nate tried to hold in a smile as he turned the key of their rental car and gripped the steering wheel, letting out a slow breath. They were heading to the hospital, and this time, they would be coming home with Cassie.

"And the-" Elena began again before Nate interrupted.

"And the backup outfit, and the hat, and the blanket." Nate side-glanced at her, trying to ease her nervousness while not letting her see his own.

"Do you think we got the car seat right?" She turned around in her seat, inspecting it for what was probably the twentieth time that morning.

"Elena, it will be okay. She'll be fine. And you're gonna do great, honey," he said calmly, putting a reassuring hand on her leg while simultaneously white-knuckling the steering wheel with his opposite hand.

 _12 hours later…_

"How can something so small make so much noise?" Nate groaned, exasperated as he walked circles around their townhouse, bouncing the baby gently.

Elena sat on the couch watching them, feeling just as frazzled. She now was beginning to realize how spoiled they had been when they had been in the hospital, with a nurse or aid coming to help every time Cassie even made a peep. Her incision had healed quite well, but she still didn't have the stamina to bounce a baby while walking up and down the halls like Nate had been for the last hour.

Elena rested her chin on her hand, leaning on the arm of the couch and smirked, "About as quiet as you trying to sneak past armed guards…"

Nate scoffed and narrowed his eyes at Elena as he walked around the back of the couch, "Hey now, I have the stealth of ninja! You just happened to have witnessed a few off days of mine… Don't listen to Mommy, Cassie, your ol' Dad here is as sneaky as they come."

" _Suuure…_ " Elena mumbled.

"What was that?" Nate voiced over the crying, raising one eyebrow at her while swaying gently.

"Nothing, cowboy. You're a grade A thief. Hey, talk to her more, she almost seemed to quiet down for a minute."

Redirecting his attention to the squalling bundle in his arms, he continued his pacing while talking softly to Cassie.

Elena leaned back in the couch, closing her eyes as the baby's cries lowered to whimpers, listening to bits of Nate's one sided conversation with their little girl.

"And I'm _never_ telling you about this when you're older, but you shoulda seen the way your Mom looked at me when we first met in Panama, she was totally in love with me right then and there…"

Hearing that, she snorted softly and thought to herself, " _More like I was wondering how much that fraud was going to cost my show."_

Soon, she began to drift off to Nate's softly whispered story of their first adventure together. When she woke again, she looked to the clock on the wall where it read one o'clock in the morning. In the kitchen, she could still hear Nate talking softly to Cassie. Quietly she walked over, leaning against the doorway, remaining out of sight, but still able to see Nate's back as he sat in a chair.

"You know, your Mom told me you were coming the day after we finished the job in Malaysia. I was so excited… A little terrified, but more excited. I thought there was no better feeling than finding a lost city or pirate treasure, or even that haul from the wreck in Malaysia, but boy, was I wrong." Nate sighed and went quiet, and Elena thought her heart might burst. Seeing her husband with their daughter like this made her fall in love with him on such a different level.

"Hey," Elena broke the silence, walking over and putting one hand on his shoulder as the other combed through his hair.

"Get some sleep?" He tilted his head towards her.

"Yes, thanks to you," She wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, leaning over to peer at the sleeping baby, her mouth slightly agape and her tiny hands fisted near her face.

"Think we can lay her down now? I'm ready for our bed. She may not weigh much, but after three hours, it feels like I'm holding an elephant."

Elena laughed quietly and nodded as he slowly got out of the chair and followed her upstairs. When the baby was finally in the bassinet at the foot of their bed, Nate groaned as he slid into bed next to Elena, reaching out for her.

She was only too happy to scoot over, cuddling into his chest and breathing in the scent of Nate mixed with the sweet smell of baby. He kissed her forehead and spoke in barely more than a whisper, "After the father I had, I wasn't sure I would even be remotely good at this."

"Oh Nate, I love you. You're an amazing father already," she whispered in to his chest while rubbing his back with one hand in a soothing manner. Within minutes, she heard the soft snore form the back of his throat, and kissed him on the collarbone. First night as a family? Check.

 **So, I've decided that I can end it here, or I can move on with little pieces of Elena/Nathan/Cassie life. I don't have any grand plans for any big adventures (unless someone wants to collab on one?!), but I would love some feedback as to what you would want to read (or not read), or if you're happy with them stopping there? Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **I'm so glad that there are a few others that appreciate everyday/domestic fluff as much as I do. Thanks for the lovely feedback and asking me to continue! Its always easier to write when you get great reviews :)**

 _Cassie: 5 weeks old (1.5 weeks since bringing her home from the hospital)_

"Hey, I think I'm getting the hang of this!" Nate said proudly, placing the empty bottle of pumped breast milk on the side table and winking at Elena who sat in chair across from them, folding a pile of laundry.

She admired the sight in front of her for a moment before giving Nate a sly smile, "Now if you can just get through the burping unscathed I'll consider it a true victory."

Nate had clearly forgotten about _that_ part as he clumsily propped the baby up, bringing her to his shoulder and making a motion to pat Cassie's back.

"Wait!" Elena blurted, putting her hand out to stop him while quickly throwing a burp cloth in his lap.

"Yeah, good idea," he smiled sheepishly, reaching for the cloth when suddenly he heard a small hiccup followed by a warm gush of baby spit up down his shoulder and chest. He froze in disgust, holding out the gurgling baby and looking at his wife, horrified.

Elena's expression did not mirror his own. Instead, she was gripping her stomach, laughing hysterically at her husband's curse of making their daughter vomit every time he fed her.

"Real funny, Elena! A little help?!" He leaned away from the couch, trying not to cause more of a mess than there already was, still holding Cassie at arm's length while she happily kicked her legs

Wiping a tear from her eye, Elena tried to give him a sympathetic look as she picked up the cloth from his lap and attempted to contain the mess. "Wonder-Dad strikes again," she chuckled while taking the baby and placing her on the floor to begin changing her.

"I give up." Nate rolled his eyes before standing up and taking his shirt off, flinging it into a now empty laundry basket next to Elena and flopping back down on the couch.

"Oh no you don't cowboy, there's plenty of practice to be had yet," she warned, looking up at him. She eyed his bare torso, noting the white, puckered scar above his left hip from a gunshot wound courtesy of Harry Flynn. She had a sudden urge to run her hand over it and venture south before a gurgling infant stole her attention once more.

"I think our daughter might be more of a 'straight from the tap' girl," Nate said as he nodded towards her chest, noting that her cleavage was slightly visible due to the two top buttons of her shirt being undone.

"Nice try, Nate," she laughed, throwing the dirty onesie at his face.

He caught it deftly, giving her a look of mock surprise. She rolled her own eyes at his theatrics, "So, do you want nap time or laundry?"

At that, he sighed, holding out his hands, "I'll take care of naptime."

Elena stood and handed Cassie to him. Once her hands were freed, she reached with her right to the back of his neck and brought him in for long kiss, relishing the feel of it. It had been a long time since they had been intimate, what with the whirlwind of events in the last month and half. When he pulled away, his eyes had a dark, hazy look to them and the corner of his mouth twitched upwards, "Does Mommy need a naptime, too?"

She let out a small laugh, her eyes dropping to look at Cassie, already snuggling into her father's chest with her eyelids drooping. The doctors had said to wait six or seven weeks before resuming their sex life and she knew Nate was chomping at the bit.

"Not today, Nate. Maybe next week?" she ended hopefully, trying not to let him down too hard.

Luckily, he was a good sport about it and simply nodded while saying, "Looking forward to it."

 _Cassie: 7 weeks old_

"She's going to starve if you keep letting _me_ try to feed her!" Nate groaned, throwing an arm over his face.

"Hey," Elena soothed, turning towards him as they laid in the bed, "She only spit up a little of it this time."

His only reply was a muffled groan. Without fail, Cassie had spit up on him every time he fed her. They had taken in her for a check-up the day before and were assured that it was normal, that babies sometimes had trouble with the bottle while being breast fed as well. It was such a special thing for Elena to be able to experience feeding her daughter, and she wanted so badly for Nate to feel that connection in his own way.

Elena let out a sigh of her own, turning onto her back. Her hand absentmindedly made its way down to the tight scar of her C-section, and it made her hesitate about her plan for the evening. It was a bright red addition to the faded pink scars that already marred a good deal of her left side. It wasn't so much the scar that stopped her, but more of a slight insecurity of her still recovering frame. Normally, Elena Fisher would not be one to feel insecure about her body; she prided herself on being above such petty ideals as makeup and maintaining society's ideal image. However, who couldn't help but feel a little off after just giving birth to a baby almost two months ago?

She turned back towards her husband, decided, stomach fluttering slightly with excitement. Slowly, she reached out, running her fingertips slowly up and down his exposed side, tickling the sharp edge of his hipbone slightly. He shuddered, and she smiled when she a heard a muffled gasp of shock escape his mouth from underneath his arm. Tracing one side of the 'V' shaped line that his abdominal muscles formed down to the waistband of his briefs, Elena paused as he shifted, finally removing his arm from his face and turning to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah?" He smirked, reaching for her waist and pulling her in closer.

"Oh, shut up," Elena teased, covering his smirk with her own mouth with a long, lingering kiss.

* * *

Nate lay on his back, arms behind his head, breathing heavily, "Jeez, I'm out of practice. You should've warned me, I would've done a few push-ups yesterday or something to prepare."

Elena swatted at him and laughed. She wiped her forehead, waiting for her own breathlessness to ease as well. Suddenly, a small wail pierced the silence and they both let out a collective sigh.

"At least my girl has good timing," Nate joked, throwing his legs over the bed and reaching for his underwear that had been tossed on the floor. Elena admired the sight of her husband as he got semi-dressed and strolled out of their bedroom towards the cries. She was glad she had thought ahead and put the baby in the small office to nap.

She could only smile when she heard the pitch of his voice change as he greeted their daughter. Despite his complaints about 'baby talk', he had succumbed to it easily enough.

Pulling the covers over her bare chest, Elena sat up, her eyebrow raising as she saw Nate coming back down the hallway, holding Cassie at arm's length.

"Honey, we have a situation here," His nose was wrinkled and he eyed the baby as if she were going to explode.

"Oh no you don't, Nate. That's all you!"

"Ah, crap," He gingerly laid the baby down on a towel on the floor that had become their makeshift changing station. He glanced at his wife who was rapt with attention on the scene before her, just waiting to see how he would handle the disaster before him.

"Wait!" Elena suddenly shouted, pointing at him. Nate froze while unsnapping the baby's onesie, looking towards her, hands hovering over the ends of the diaper.

"What?! What did I do?"

"I need my camera for this!" Elena giggled, standing up naked and quickly grabbing her smaller portable camera from the dresser.

Nate groaned and looked towards the ceiling before redirecting his gaze to his daughter, who was now becoming slightly red in the face at having been left in her diaper too long for her liking.

The camera now rolling, with Elena trying to keep her laughter to a dull roar, Nate began the task of cleaning up the diaper blowout, letting out a gag when the diaper was off.

"Oh, please! You're telling me that this is more gross than Avery's menagerie of pirate ribcages and jaws hanging from the ceiling?"

His only answer was a pointed glare towards his wife and her camera while he wrapped the diaper up tightly and threw it in the trash. Once Cassie was clean and happy again, Nate returned to the bed, kissing the top of the infant's head and whispered, "You're lucky you're cute, little girl."

Elena reached for the baby, easing her down to nurse, "So how traumatized are you on a scale of 1-10?"

"9. I'll taking exploding mummies over exploding diapers any day," he replied while reaching for the covers, pulling them up to his waist and making sure they covered Elena's legs as well.

They were both feeling chilled after the heat from their lovemaking had dissipated and the chill of early December had crept back into their room. He stroked his wife's exposed upper thigh, smoothing over her goose bumps as she nursed while closing his own eyes.

After Cassie was sated and burped, the milk-drunk baby lazily began to close her eyes and smack her lips. Gently, she placed her on Nate's chest, slightly startling him in his half sleep, half awake state. Eyes still closed, Nate smiled broadly and brought his left hand up to hold the snuggling bundle, as his free arm snaked around his wife, drawing her close.

An immense feeling of contentment enveloped him, and he soon fell asleep. So maybe he wouldn't trade the diapers for exploding mummies, after all.

 **Please review and tell me what you think! I'd love to know if this is the sort of thing you wanted to read.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it's been so long… the craziness of life has gone to epic proportions lately!**

 **Chapter 7**

 _Cassie: 10 weeks old_

"Okay Nate, I'll be back sometime tonight. Sully's coming over soon, right?" Elena asked while fidgeting with her cross body purse, trying to appear collected. This would be her first time away from Cassie for a whole day and she hesitated by the front door, looking apprehensively at her husband. Today she had to travel to the nearest immigration office in the city, four hours away, for papers for Cassie in order for them to make their way to their home in Spain.

"He said he'd be here soon. Are you sure we can't all go together?" Nate looked up at her from his spot on the couch where he was cradling a sleeping Cassie, anxiety visible on his face.

"We talked about this Nate, I don't want to put her, or us for that matter, through that long car ride. We'd all be miserable," She ruffled her hand through his hair before leaning down to kiss him.

Then, a quick knock at the door signaled that Sully had arrived. Opening the door, she was greeted with a warm, "Hey darlin'." Sully strolled in, setting a six pack down on the coffee table in front of Nate and clapped his hands together while looking back at Elena, "I'll make sure these two stay out of trouble."

"Oh, because you keeping Nate out of trouble has gone so well in the past?" Elena smirked, raising one eyebrow, looking from Sully to Nate, who just shrugged. "Okay boys, keep the craziness to a dull roar. There's three bottles in the fridge just in case." With that, she leaned down to give her daughter a kiss on the head and was out the door.

When the door clicked shut, the two men looked to each other, "I guess it's just you and me and the kid, kid."

"We've survived worse, I guess," Nate laughed, and Cassie joined in the conversation by kicking a foot out straight into her father's groin. More surprised than hurt, Nate winced and shot his friend a silencing look. "Make yourself useful, would ya, _Grampa_ Sully?"

"Hey now, we talked about this. I'm too young and pretty for 'Grampa'," Victor said while hesitantly reaching for the squirming baby.

"Oh man, Elena's gonna want a shot of this moment," Nate chuckled while cracking a beer and reaching for the always-nearby camera on the table. The scene was comical to say the least, with Victor holding Cassie at arm's length with a suspicious look, while the newly awake Cassie looked at him with an equally dubious expression.

Nate snapped the photo and laughed again when the digital image popped up on the screen, "She's not a bomb, Sully…Well not most of the time," the second half of his sentence spoken more quietly as Victor attempted to readjust the baby closer to him.

"Yeah well, I've seen her work on you enough times to justify a little caution," he replied while still holding the baby rigidly, making her squirm more.

* * * _2 hours later..._

"Kid's got a set of lungs on her, doesn't she?" Sully winced, covering one ear.

Nate gave him an anguished look in response, continuing to hush and bounce the inconsolable baby, "She feels really warm."

"She's the color of a beet, too. You got a thermometer or something, Nate?"

"Thermometer, right…" Nate quickly walked to the bathroom in search of the object.

Sully heard a small crash and the sound of things falling on the floor along with a slightly higher pitched cry from Cassie. When he went to investigate, he saw Nate sitting on the floor of the bathroom, assorted toiletries on the floor around him, and with a thermometer popped into the baby's mouth.

"101," Nate read, eyes growing wide.

"Goddammit," Sully muttered, scratching the back of his head, "Well, let's go, kid, I'll drive."

"You should really call Elena, Nate," Sully glanced in the rearview mirror at Nate who sat next to Cassie in the back seat, trying to soothe her while growing more panicked.

"She'll just worry, and I don't want her rushing home with the way she drives. I'll wait and see what the doctors say before I call her. I don't want her to think I can't handle it."

After hurriedly checking in, Nate followed a nurse down a familiar hallway towards the pediatric unit. It was located next to the NICU where they had spent the first weeks of Cassie's life. He shuddered slightly at the not-so-distant memory, looking down at his red-faced daughter squalling in the baby carrier. " _I hope this is just a_ _ **quick**_ _visit this time…"_

A familiar doctor came by shortly. When Nate heard the words "nothing serious" and "ear infection" he finally let out the tense breath he had been holding. As if on cue, his phone began buzzing in his back pocket.

"Hey, hon," Nate answered, trying to keep the now-fading anxiety out of his voice.

"Hey Nate, how's my baby?"

"Oh, I'm great. Are you on your way back yet?"

He could almost hear her eyes roll when she answered, "Funny, Nate. And yes, I'm just getting on the road now. "

A high-pitched cry rang throughout the small room as the doctor began putting antibiotic drops into one of Cassie's ears and Nate winced.

"Why is she screaming like that?" Elena said, clearly alarmed.

"Well, don't worry Elena, but we're at the hospital…" Nate began.

"The HOSPITAL?! Why didn't you CALL me, Nathan!?"

Nate held the phone away from his ear slightly as his wife riddled him with panicked questions. He quickly tried to explain, and heard her calm down slightly, although he knew she was frustrated being hours away yet.

By the time all of her questions had been answered, Cassie was ready to be discharged with a prescription for ear drops. Nate made Elena promise not to rush her long drive and she begrudgingly agreed to drive only 'slightly' over the speed limit. He had held back from saying how badly he wished she was there with him before she had finally hung up. His heart rate was only beginning to stop racing and the wailing from his newborn was tearing up his heart.

Strapping her back into the car seat, Nate walked out into the waiting room and spotted Sully flipping through a magazine.

"You can read German?" Nate asked incredulously.

"Not a word. Just in it for the pictures," Sully smiled, standing up.

"Ear infection," Nate stated, answering his friend's unanswered question when he saw him look down and give Cassie an empathetic look.

"Of all the luck, kid," he replied, shaking his head slightly as they started for the hospital exit. "And how did Elena take it?"

"Oh, I'd say pretty well. She only called me a dumbass twice for not calling her right away," he chuckled.

Sully chuckled, too, "Boy, Nate, and here I thought your life would calm down a little when you two started a family. Apparently I've learned nothing in the 20 years I've known you."

 **And I'll stop that little moment there. Hope you all enjoyed it!**


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